The dispersion of various solutes into enclosed or partly enclosed bodies of liquid is typically necessitated when such bodies are utilized as swimming/wading pools and hot tubs, for example. Unless regularly monitored and treated, the liquids, typically comprising water, can become contaminated and considered unsanitary for their intended use, such as swimming, bathing and soaking. Contamination of such bodies of water can include the growth and proliferation of algae and similar organisms to unacceptable levels. In order to contain and maintain such contamination under control so as to provide a desired sanitation level of the body of water, a regimen of controlled addition of a suitable biocide to the water is typically utilized. One example of a commonly utilized biocide is a halogen derived from a solute-bearing solution resulting from the combination of a halogen salt and water; most commonly the halogen salt is a source of chlorine. The dispensing rates of chlorine required to maintain the water in a suitable desired state depends on the size of the pool or spa, the climatic conditions, the temperature of the water, and the extent of use of the pool or spa. A floating device that can be placed in the water and accurately dispense a desired solute-containing solution into a body of water in controlled amounts eases the burden of repetitive measurement of a particular solute's concentration in a body of water and manual dispersion of such solutes as needed.
Solute dispensing devices exist for swimming pools. One such device, among many, is the Rainbow Plastics Model 330 floating dispenser for solid chlorine. This dispenser resembles an inverted hollow truncated cone. The interior serves as a receptacle into which granular pellets of water-soluble chlorine source material are placed. Around the circumference of the receptacle adjacent to the bottom are apertures consisting of elongated vertical slots. The slots cooperate with a similarly slotted sleeve which is captive to and rotatable about the exterior of the container. The sleeve can be adjusted so that the slots are fully closed, fully opened, or in between. The top of the receptacle is closable by a lid which does not make an air-tight seal with the receptacle. The walls of the container are hollow and are filled with closed-cell plastic foam. The cavity in which the foam is located is hermetically sealed. The dispenser does not incorporate any ballast elements.
When filled with a soluble solid source of chlorine or other desired halogen ion source and floated in a swimming pool, the pool water enters into the receptacle and fills it to the level at which the dispenser is floating. The water in the receptacle wets at least that source material which lies below the floating waterline of the dispenser. Accordingly, the wetted source material in the receptacle is dissolved, thereby releasing the active constituent of the material into the water in the dispenser. The rate at which such solution is released to the adjacent pool or spa is regulated by the extent to which the apertures in the receptacle are opened or closed by the position of the adjustment sleeve on the exterior of the receptacle.
Another chlorine dispensing device for dispensing a soluble solid source of chlorine i.e., for spas and hot tubs is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,634. Rainbow Plastics Model 335 floating dispenser conforms to the disclosure of that patent. That dispenser comprises a tubular body having a hollow pancake-shaped float at a closed upper end of the body and a tubular-shaped sleeve that fits over the opposite open end of the body. The body accommodates a predetermined volume of soluble solid halogen source material, of which a pre-selected amount is exposed to contact with the water via a plurality of elongated slots or apertures positioned at diametrically opposite locations in the sleeve, forming a solute containing solution. The body and sleeve are threadably engagable with one another to form the assembled dispensing device and are placed in the water in a vertically oriented position with the apertures immersed. The pancake-shaped float at the physical top of the body and a lead weight at the bottom of the sleeve ensures that the dispenser floats vertically erect. The rate that the solution is dispensed to the water outside the dispenser is controlled by the degree of closure of the apertures. Additionally, once the solid halogen source is completely dissolved, the latter dispenser must be reloaded by disassembling the sleeve from the body and loading the new source material into the body. The need to disassemble the dispenser when reloading can result in loss of the desired operating position adjustment of the sleeve on the body.
Other available products include cumbersome floating structures, which receive a non-refillable disposable replaceable cartridge that contains the soluble source of chlorine or other halogen. The exterior of the cartridge contains ribs which cooperate with slots in a large float to hold the cartridge in a selected position vertically relative to the float. The containers are molded with bumps axially spaced along the container adjacent to the bottom end and a single bump adjacent to the top end. The user cuts off one or more bottom bumps to define the extent to which water communicates with the inside of the container, and cuts off the top bump to provide air communication to the inside of the container. The container is then placed into the large float and the resulting assembly is placed in the pool. Water then fills the cartridge to the water line of the floating assembly; the vertical position of the cartridge in the float determines the extent to which the cartridge contents are wetted.
In a floating device for dispersing a solute-containing solution, it is important that the rate of solution of the source material be controllable with meaningful precision over a range commensurate with the solute dispersion requirements of the particular body of liquid into which it is disposed. It is therefore desirable that a floating device afford good, easy to select control over the rate at which a concentrated solute-containing solution is created within the device and over the rate at which that solution is dispensed to the exterior of the device. It is also desirable that the dispensing device not be too bulky, provide ease of storage and transport, and be aesthetically pleasing. The dispensing device should be constructed in a manner facilitating source material reloading without having to disassemble the device or disturb the adjustment for controlling the rate of solution dispensation from the interior of the device. Additionally, the device should also provide a method providing selection of the depth at which the an amount of the solute-bearing solution is dispensed to the body of liquid. Finally, the dispensing device should be made of a material, such as, but not limited to, poly vinyl chloride or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, that are resistant to damage from prolonged exposure to sunlight and chemicals, as known in the art.
Clearly there is a need for a floating device for dispersing a solute-containing solution which is easy to store and transport, provides simple and accurate methods of use and is aesthetically pleasing.